TRUST IN THE LORD UNITY OF THE PSALM: According to some scholars like Bishop Weiser, this psalm consists of two parts: (1 to 6, and 7 to 14), which differ from each others in the style and content: The first part is a strong song expressing the unshakable trust in God; whereas the second part is a lamentation prayer from someone in great need of the divine help amid his tribulation. According to others, there is harmony between the two parts. For the psalmist, being threatened by enemies and adversaries, even if they join forces together against him, yet he believes that any human help is vain, compared to his trust in God alone, his light, help, and stronghold; particularly in the sanctuary of His temple, where, he seeks the holy help of God. In his anguish, the psalmist seeks from the Lord to let him live all the days of his life in the house of God, to experience the sweetness of God, and to behold the beauty of His temple. He seeks what is more than the protection from his enemies; He seeks from God to let him stand in His city, enjoy His face, and perceive the joy of His house. ITS OCCASION: This psalm is connected, either to king Saul’s persecution against David, or to the period when the later escaped from the face of his son Absalom; or to the period during which he was fighting against the Philistines, when he was almost killed by some giant adversary, if it was not for ‘Abishai’ who came to his rescue at the last moment. At that time, David has been a frail old man, even though he was as valiant as he used to be, yet have lost the vigor of his youth. Fearing for the life of their king and leader, “the people came to swear to him, saying: ‘You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel’” (2 Samuel 21: 17). https://coptic-treasures.com/ ITS TITLE: ‘For David, before he was anointed. David was anointed three times: (1 Samuel 16: 13; 2 Samuel 2: 4; 5: 3). The first time when he was still a boy, when he was anointed in his father’s house in secret, without the knowledge of king Saul, nor of the people; The second time, when he was publicly anointed by the people of Judah; And the third time when He was crowned a king over all the tribes of Israel. In all of them, David has been a symbol of the “the Son of David”, the Savior Christ: 1- From eternity, the Divine Word was anointed a Savior and a Redeemer of men; even before our creation and our fall. 2- He came to reign on His people, His own. 3- He proclaimed His kingdom in His church, from one end of the world to the other end. + The anointment, then, only concerned the king and the priest; for in both of them was the symbol to be realized in Him who came a King and a Priest, at the same time – the Lord Christ -- who alone, carried the two titles. He was called “Christ” on account of that He was anointed by God (the Father). He was not anointed as our Head, but we were anointed, as well, as His body. Now, He is the “King”, being our Leader and Guide; And He is the “Priest”, for He intercedes for us. He is actually, the Priest, as well as the Sacrifice; for the sacrifice He offered to God the Father, was Himself. As all partake of the anointment, and of Him … Hence, the psalm is a prayer by someone longing for such a life, fervently seeking the grace of God, consummated in us at the end. https://coptic-treasures.com/ ITS GENERAL FRAME: 1- A trust in the Lord 1 - 3 2- A refuge in the church of Christ 4 - 6 3- A prayer with hope 7 - 13 4- A counsel and a guidance 14 1- A TRUST IN THE LORD: In both its form and content, this poem (1 – 6) likens psalm 23. Watching in immense fear the multitude of armies joining forces against him, , yet, his fear was swallowed by the vision of God, in whom the psalmist finds the light, the salvation, and the strength. The Lord Himself was his portion, light, gladness, peace, salvation, strength, and refuge. His trust with no fear, in God, enables him, not only to confront all the dangers before him, but even to find sweetness and gladness in the temptations.. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?”(1) No one can utter such words, except he who no longer lean upon his human friends, nor upon himself; but unconditionally leaning upon, and trusting in the Lord, in utter deliverance under all conditions. Such an independence of everything human, sets man free of every fear. Yet this kind of trust is only granted to him who sees in God his utmost goal, in all the practical and actual situations of his life. Trusting in that all the features and attributes of God suit his protection and his enjoyment of the eternal glory, the believer says: “The Lord is my Light, salvation, and the strength of my life”. The psalm starts by proclaiming God, as our Light, salvation, ad the strength of our life, on a personal level; … by whom the believer is personally saved from his spiritual enemies, to have his inner insight enlightened to behold the heavenly glories The light is a natural symbol of everything positive, from truth to goodness, to joy, and gladness (Psalm 43: 3; Isaiah 5: 20; Psalm 97: 11; 36: 9). Enjoying God as our light, we would fear no one nor anything; for light scatters the darkness, and “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8: 31). The psalmist presents to us the words of a man of experience, through his personal life and experience, who was surrounded by armies, but by faith he conquered; being as though in the midst of dense fog, he discovered that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5); by His light he saw the light; and heard to the voice of the Lord, saying: “I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8: 12). … We should never be deceived by fog; for when the Sun of Righteousness shines in us, granting us the healing by His wings, saving us https://coptic-treasures.com/ from evil, we would say: “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, For YAH, the Lord is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12: 2). The more the hosts of darkness joined forces against us, the more we long for the Sun of Righteousness, and the more we discover His work of salvation, practically in our life. The true Light grants me the light of knowledge; to discover Him the Savior from my sins; and experience Him my strength against evil. This is the work of God, my Savior in my life: He grants me the light of knowledge, salvation, and strength. + He gives me light; Scatter, O darkness! … He saves me; Farewell, O all weaknesses! : + God grants me both the knowledge of Himself (the Light), and salvation; … Who can take me away from Him?! The Lord confronts all the attacks of my enemy, hidden and manifest; … I fear no one! + Yes, Lord, In the absence of Your Light, there will be appearance of death; or rather the coming of nothingness. + How miserable I am, … darkness prevailed on me; … Although You are the Light; Yet I have covered my face from You! + Oh Lord, Utter the words: “Let there be Light!”; … For then, I would be able to behold the light, and flee from the darkness! See the true way, and forsake the way of loss! See the truth, and keep away from vanity! See life, and flee from death! Shine in me, O God; For You are my Light and enlightenment! https://coptic-treasures.com/ + O Most exalted Light; Hasten to shine in a blind man, who desires to become Your possession! (St. Augustine) Granting us Himself a Light, Our inner insight becomes enlightened, and would discover in God, its salvation and strength. + Being our strength; By Him we gain conquest; For He gives us the authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy. (St. Cyril the Great) + Being faithful, and fearing God, you would fear no one; … “The righteous is as bold as a lion” (Proverb 28: 1). (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) + O God, … You are my Life; my Creator; my Light; my Guide; my Stronghold, and my existence; Have mercy on me; and lift me up1 + O God, my God … You are the breaths of my life: my goodness, my strength, my comfort in the day of anguish. See the multitude of my enemies; Save me from their hands; … For where will those who hate You, flee from Your face?!... As for me, I live by, and in You. O Divine Word … I wish I become attached to You; For in You will be my keeping. You created me; I pray, re-create me! I sinned; Visit me! I fell; lift me up! https://coptic-treasures.com/ I became ignorant; Instruct me! I lost sight; Bring me back to light! (St. Augustine) According to St. John Chrysostom, the Holy Book presents to us the Lord with several titles, to satisfy all our needs: He is our Light, Salvation, and Stronghold, as it came in this psalm; He is the Bread, coming down from heaven; the Door, the Way, the Truth, and the Life; etc. + David does not always call God by the same name or title. But during his war and conquest, he says: “I love You, O Lord; my Strength, my Shield”; And when the Lord saves him from tribulation and darkness, he says: “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation”…. He calls Him according to his condition at the time; Sometimes, he calls Him through His compassionate love; or calls Him through His justice; and other times, through His righteous judgment. (St. John Chrysostom) “When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident” (2, 3) The wicked, who came against him to eat up his flesh and to destroy him, were mighty, yet His God is mightier than them all. The wicked (Psalm 26: 5) used to slay the people of God and to eat them as they eat bread; do them harm, and afflict them (Psalm 14: 4;Jeremiah 26: 5;1 Samuel 26: 21;Psalm 44: 2; Proverb 44: 2; Numbers 20: 15). … Yet the Mighty One did not force them to stop practicing their evil, but by His salvation love, He offered them His life-granting body to eat; so that we, as members of His body, https://coptic-treasures.com/ would offer our bodies as food to our brethren in humanity, by the giving spirit of love, to eat us up, and turn from ferocious wolves into meek lambs. Hence the Lord Jesus says to His disciples: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10: 16). Let the wicked, therefore eat up my flesh; for by it, Christ dwelling in me is able to turn their evil life into a holy one … ; He knows how to make me a vessel that bears sufferings for the sake of Christ, who has turned Saul of Tarsus, from being a persecutor of the church, who ate the flesh of her children, into the apostle Paul, about whom He said: “I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9: 16).. … The idol-worshippers ate up the flesh of St. Mark, and shed his blood on the streets of Alexandria, to turn it into a holy city, embracing the living church of Christ. + “When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh …” (2); to insult me, because I seek what is more exalted; will, to disturb me by their cursed teeth, and to afflict me by their vain desires, … they would stumble and fall. + “My flesh” means the instincts of my lowly nature. Let them (the wicked) then stir up against me; for they will actually destroy in me what is mortal (my physical desires); But, in me, will endure, what my persecutors could not reach, the temple where my God dwells. (St. Augustine) Let my enemy then, come, and stir up against me; for he will only eat up my flesh; Namely, in his war against me, he would not be able to force himself on my inner life – the kingdom of heaven set in me – he will only bring me forth, for some time, into physical or psychological affliction, for some, to make me take off my carnal desires, and walk along the narrow way of Christ, with purity. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear” (3). No human power, nor huge armies, happened to gather together against the Lord of hosts (Daniel 11: 38); except to become in God’s sight, no more than the grass of the field; For God’s care in most cases takes the side against the mighty oppressor (Ecclesiastes 9: 11). + An emperor protected by his guards has no fear of anyone; If the mortals protect the mortal to fear nothing. What would be the case if the Immortal protects the mortal? Would he fear and be disturbed?1 (St. Augustine) Armies would never terrify the believer, for he takes refuge in the Immortal Eternal Being; who sends His angels to guard him; And He Himself would be his hiding place (Psalm 32: 7). The believer, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, will not fear even the devil and all his hosts. Believing in God who scatters the darkness by His cross, neither the devil nor the sin would have authority in his heart; for he enjoys the kingdom of God inside him. 2- A REFUGE IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: As the armies gathered together around David, he found his secure refuge in God alone. … And instead of worrying about how to confront the enemies, his heart withdrew to the house of the Lord, to the church of Christ, set by the Holy Spirit within himself, and to the holy collective worship, where he would enjoy the sweetness of God dwelling in the heart, as well as in the midst of the congregation: https://coptic-treasures.com/ “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek: that I will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle, He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now, my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me. Therefore I will offer sacrifice of joy in His tabernacle. I will sing, Yes, I will sing praises to the Lord” (4 – 6) If the devil’s goal is to stir up troubles around us, in an attempt to preoccupy us away from our Holy God, and to deny us the fellowship with Him, The heart of the true believer – by the spirit of wisdom – will withdraw to the church of God, to His house, proclaiming his longing to be with God all the days of his life. In his sufferings, the prophet proclaims: a- Not diverting away from his ultimate goal: Building a house for the Lord, where he, himself, will also dwell. b- Beholding and meditating with gladness in the Lord, who dwells in His holy temple c- Being protected in the tabernacle of the Lord, and hiding in His pavilion. d- Being set high by the Lord upon a rock e- Having conquest over his enemies f- Offering sacrifices of joy and singing praise to the Lord. a- Not diverting away from his goal: The longings of prophet and king David, had for long concentrated upon building a house for the Lord; Namely, to perpetually dwell by his heart in the divine sanctuaries. And as he says here, his only desire and longing which fill up his https://coptic-treasures.com/ heart, and in which all the other longings gather together and are realized, is to live in a perpetual fellowship with the Lord, as long as he could; For then, he would possess everything. He longed to dwell in the house of the Lord to worship Him, and to enjoy His protection. As it is to be noticed here, that even the priests have never actually dwelt in the temple, the psalmist did not mean the physical dwelling, but the spiritual dwelling; Namely, to have his heart dwell there as a spiritual priest to God. Although the psalmist begins his psalm by proclaiming his personal relationship with God, being his Light, Savior, and the Stronghold of his life; We see him here, on account of his great love for the house of the Lord, and for the liturgical collective worship, recognize God through the congregation (the house of the Lord). Namely, there is no separation between man’s personal life with God, and his relationship with Him through the holy congregation. The psalmist longs to dwell in the house of the Lord all the (days), and (not the nights) of his life. For he found in the Lord His Light that scatters the darkness of his night. And according to St. Augustine, the psalmist’s life had no nights, and there was no darkness in it. + There, you can see what I love! … It would be so amazing to behold the Beauty of the Lord Himself! Once the night of the psalmist comes to an end, he longs to have rest forever in the Light of God; to have no more night, but to have the dawn shine forever on him. (St. Augustine) https://coptic-treasures.com/ It is to be noticed how the psalmist calls the church by several titles, each of which has its own goal: -- The house of God: referring to God dwelling in the midst of His people; and to the believer dwelling together with God. -- His holy temple: referring to holiness as the beauty of the Holy God; by which we enjoy beholding God, and His paradise. -- His pavilion: referring to God partaking of our sojourn in the world; having His own tabernacle, living among us, and departing with us, until He carries us to His heavens; … The glory of God used to dwell in His holy tabernacle. -- His tabernacle under which He protects us against the heat of temptations. -- A Rock: To which He lifts us up, away from the serpent, which cannot crawl on a smooth rock. b- Beholding and meditating with gladness in the Lord, dwelling in His holy temple: “To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (4). The Holy God dwells in His holy temple; pouring the holy life upon His church, so that the believer would enjoy the holiness, without which no one would be able to behold God. The soul sanctified in the Lord is counted as His temple, a chaste virgin for Christ; As according to St. Jerome: [Blessed is the soul, the virgin in whose heart there is no place except for the love of Christ; who, Himself is the Wisdom, purity, perseverance, justice, and every other virtue]. c- “For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle, He shall hide me” (5) https://coptic-treasures.com/ According to St. Augustine, the tabernacle or the pavilion of the Lord refers to His incarnation, as He emptied Himself and hid His Deity, to consummate the salvation work by the cross, to let us hide in Him from the arrows of the enemy, and the reproach of sin. + For He hid me in the ordinance of His incarnated Word, through the temptation that confronted my mortal life; He hid me in His pavilion; and protected me since the faith that justifies me has dwelt in my heart (Romans 10: 10). “He shall set me high upon a rock”; to guide me to salvation by the manifest knowledge of my faith, He made like a stronghold founded upon His strength. (St. Augustine) The pavilion of Christ in which He hides me, is His body resurrected from death, in which, by dwelling in it, I am protected against my corrupt nature; as it is written: “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down” (Amos 9: 11). The pavilion, here, refers to the honored and holy body, the temple of God, born by the virgin, in which the believer dwells in company with the body of the Lord…. Having taken for Himself the nature of every body, He became the true vine, in which He gathered together the element of every branch. (St. Hilary, bishop of Poitier) There is a bond between the tabernacle and the pavilion; both refer to the Lord’s company with us during our sojourn in this world. The https://coptic-treasures.com/ tabernacle was set in the middle of the camp during the journeys of the people through the wilderness; and in it the Lord shone His glory and splendor upon His people during peace. The royal pavilion on the other hand was set in the midst of the camp of the army, during battles, guarded by the mighty warriors; … The believer lives under the protection of the Warrior King and His heavenly hosts; … Christ dwells in our life under all circumstances, to grant us His glory and conquest. The tabernacle refers to the sacrifice, in which the holy blood protects the believers against sin. And the pavilion refers to the necessity of of the spiritual strife under the leadership of the Savior Himself. It is as though both the tabernacle and the pavilion represent the unity of faith and strife; namely, the works of our new life in Christ Jesus, the Subject of our faith, and the Leader of our spiritual strife. d- Being set up high by the Lord upon a Rock: The Rock upon which the Lord sets me high is the living faith in Him, which is the foundation of the church, and upon which the holy souls are built as a holy temple for the Lord, whose foundation the tempests could not shake. As the serpent cannot crawl on a smooth rock, When our Christ sets us high in Him, the old enemy would not be able to crawl into us. The prophet David often speaks of the Lord Christ as a Rock (See psalm 18); the Rock from which the water of wisdom flows, that waters the soul, and supports it in its sojourn, and during her continuous spiritual strife. e- Having conquest over his enemies: https://coptic-treasures.com/ “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me” (6) Finding his refuge in the Lord’s royal pavilion, the believer’s head is lifted up above his enemies, trusting in the sure conquest he gets under the leadership of the Lord. In the house of God, we, not only find refuge against the wicked enemies, but we gain honor, having our heads lifted up; for which we offer the sacrifices of praise and exultation. Our hearts trusting in the perfect conquest, our heads are lifted up with joy and cherish, even though we see ourselves surrounded on all sides and threatened by our enemies. The temple was seen as a secure place (see 2 Kings 11: 3; Nehemiah 6: 10); the secret of its security is not its high walls and towers, but the Lord dwelling in it, and the fellowship with Him experienced inside it. f-Offering sacrifices of joy and singing praise to the Lord: In the house of the Lord our souls exult by God, whom we recognize and behold the splendor of His holiness; in whom we take refuge; by whom we enjoy conquest; whom we approach; and whose company we experience in our life; So that our depths would turn into a spiritual harp, on which the Spirit of the Lord plays the praises of thanksgiving, setting our heads high above the adversary evil enemy. + We offer the inexpressible sacrifice of exultation, of joy, and of thanksgiving…. But where would we offer it? … in His tabernacle; in His holy church … Here we find a reference to the glory of the church. Concerning the present, we are committed to moan, and to pray: Moaning being the portion of the miserable, while praying is that of the needy. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Prayers will pass on, to be replaced by praise; … Weeping will pass on, to be replaced by joy. (St. Augustine) 3- A PRAYER WITH HOPE: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, ‘Seek My face’, my heart said to you, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek’. Do not hide Your face from me. Do not turn Your servant away in anger” (7-9) Having been surrounded by his enemies, the psalmist prayed seeking help from God his Light; But, beholding the divine Light, he came to forget all about his enemies, and sought from God to shine upon him, to enjoy His face. According to the Hebrew text, it came as “Seek My face”; David probably remembered the grace-filled divine promise, that if we seek His face, He would never deny it to us. While painfully thinking about the affliction he brought upon himself through sin, memories shine on him as light in the midst of darkness, of the covenants he is committed to, and of the Word of God which expresses both the commandment and the divine promise, at the same time, saying: “Seek My face”…. The psalmist, therefore, instead of getting disturbed by the enemies and their threats, is preoccupied with God’s commandment, counting it as a promise; in response to our request to enjoy beholding Him. Hiding His face, means God, as the Divine Judge, refuses to attend to our case, and to grant us salvation. The psalmist probably intends to say: I know that the multitude of my sins would make You hide Your face from me; You reject me because of Your justice and righteousness, but You are a merciful God, capable of saving. https://coptic-treasures.com/ + Hiding His face because of our sins does not mean forsaking us in anger; for he may hide His face from your sins, but He would never hide His face from you as a person. (St. Augustine) We cry out to God, together with the psalmist, seeking from Him not to remember our sins, but to remember our sinful souls, that by repentance, they would receive His mercy; not to hide His face from us, but from our sins, to return to Him, to see Him and He sees us. The psalmist consummates his prayer, saying: “Do not leave me, nor forsake me, O God of my salvation” (9); + “Do not forsake me, O God of my salvation”, Despise not a mortal seeking the Immortal! For You heal the wound caused by my sin. (St. Augustine) Praying to God, the psalmist feels comfort, and that he is lifted up by the divine grace. Even though his friends, and probably even his own parents, have given him their backs, counting his affliction as chastisement by God. Yet there is light that brings him gladness in his loneliness, which is that God receives him, embraces him to His bosom, and carries him as a son on His divine arms. God’s love exalts above any other love, even above parental love.. “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (10) https://coptic-treasures.com/ It is difficult to imagine that the father and mother may forsake their own child; yet if it so happens because of unforeseen circumstances, the heavenly Father who will embrace him, lift him above his enemies, and bring him forth into the eternal bosoms. … ‘Hagar’ forsook her son under a tree to die of thirst, and went to sit afar from him. But the Lord heard the moaning of the boy, and opened the mother’s eyes to see a well of water to quench her son’s thirst. …. Moses’ parents, likewise, forsook their son in the river among the weeds; and the Lord sent Pharaoh’s daughter to adopt him. We did not hear that David’s parents have forsaken him, but he probably meant their inability to give him help in the time of his troubles. Some believe that the father and mother, here, refer to the dear friends, and those close to him, who denied him their trust and appreciation. + “When my father and my mother forsake me” . The kingdom and city of this world, that gave me my mortal birth, have failed me, because I sought You, and despised their gifts to me. They could not give me what I need; but the Lord received me, granted me Himself, and cared for me. + The psalmist here, made himself like a little child before God, whom he sees as his father and mother: his father, on account of that He has created him; and His mother, on account of that He cares for him, raises him, feeds him, suckles him, and nurses him. Having been without faith, the devil was our father (John 8: 44); and Babylon was our mother… But now, we recognized God as our true Father; and the heavenly Jerusalem, the holy church, as our true mother, part of which still sojourn on earth. Away from our ancient father and the mother, namely, from the devil and Babylon, God received us as His children, to comfort and bless us by immortal things. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Our enemies are still capable of stirring up troubles against us, for we are still within their hands; but our Head is actually there in heaven; He who said: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 9: 4); by which He clearly shows that He is in us. Even though we are down there on earth; Yet we are, at the same time, in Him up high; according to the words: “lifting up my head above my enemies around me” (6). (St. Augustine) Proclaiming his parents’ inability to support him in his time of affliction, the psalmist found in God the compassionate heavenly fatherhood, capable of saving him from his enemies, of restoring his honor, to lift up his head above them. While still on earth, perpetually wrestling against his spiritual enemy, In this war he needs no map to guide him in his battle, but a Leader to hold his hand, to hide him in Him, and to grant him the spirit of conquest; Hence he says: “Lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies” (11). The Lord Christ, as a Guide and a Way at the same time, precedes and supports the believer to pass through the narrow royal path, the path of the cross, without stopping nor retreat. + Grant me uprightness on the narrow path; It is not enough for me to start; for my enemies will not cease to afflict me until I reach my goal. “For false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence” (12) Oppression would not be satisfied except by realizing its vanity; Yet, because it failed to disturb me, I got a promise of a greater reward in https://coptic-treasures.com/ heaven: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed, that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (13) (St. Augustine) While oppression found many false witnesses; I, by faith, found in God a Father, a Mother, and a Support. … While oppression will come to an end by reaching its goal, namely, vanity and destruction; I will reach my goal, when I behold what God has promised me of blessings in heaven “the land of the living”…. While the wicked trust in oppression, to collapse together with it; I trust in faith, by which I am lifted up to the land of the living. What is the land of the living? + I do not believe that the prophet calls this earth “the land of the living”, on account of that it only produces mortal things; and all what come out of it will eventually dissolve. But, by “the land of the living” he meant that land, not approached by death, nor on which the wicked tread, or evil has a place. (St. Gregory, bishop of Nyssa). + By baptism, we came to be “the land of the living”, and not that of the dead; Namely, of virtues, and not of iniquities. But for this to be true, we are committed, after being baptized, to keep away from going back to the mire of iniquities, and to have no place in us for blood, namely, for the works of evil entailing death. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) + It is befitting of “the land of the living” to be desired, not in an earthly way without life, but in a heavenly way, and with an alert heart; on account of that it is the land https://coptic-treasures.com/ for which the psalmist longed with flaming love, singing with joy (in another psalm): “My soul longs for you like a thirsty land” (Psalm 143: 6). (St. Augustine) + As “the land of the living” is there, the (land of the dead) is surely here! + Because all good things are there, where eternal life is, life without sin, the psalmist says in another location: “We would be filled with the goods of Your house” (St. Ambrose) 4- A COUNSEL AND GUIDANCE: “Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage. And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord” (14) Teaching us the life of prayer, together with repentance, in order to enjoy conquest over the enemies, to enjoy the beauty of the Lord’s temple, and to behold the Lord’s face; the psalmist again, confirms our need to trust in God, to wait on the Lord, and to anticipate His work in us; to wait on Him with strong faith, being sure of His compassionate fatherhood, grantor of every heavenly blessing. + Endure as a man, the fire that purifies your lusts, and with courage that which purifies your heart. Do not assume that what you have not got, you never will; and do not fall in despair, as long as you meditate in the words, saying: “Wait on the Lord”. (St. Augustine) https://coptic-treasures.com/ -------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 27 “My father and my mother have forsaken me” + When the enemy gathers up his armies against me, I feel darkness; All my friends and loved ones have deserted me; My father and mother have forsaken me; But You are my Savior, my Support, and My Conquest. + By You I am enlightened, to have no fear of the hosts of darkness; In Your house I dwell, and my soul finds comfort; Your holy sanctuary lifts me up to Your heavens; And in Your tabernacle I rejoice together with Your angels and saints. + I sought Your face; I pray, do not hide it from me; Hide it from my sins; for my soul waits on You. + The wicked find strength in oppression which will not endure; But I enjoy You, For You are my reward and my glory.
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